Teh One Who Knocks
07-28-2014, 11:20 AM
By Claire Ellicott - The Daily Mail
http://i.imgur.com/AnESDE6.jpg
A dog owner plans to sue a council for thousands of pounds after her pet slipped a disc in grass while chasing a cat.
Scooby, a three-year-old Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, was injured after getting his leg caught in long grass on council-owned land in Brighton, East Sussex.
His disabled owner Rebecca Richardson, 48, claims that she now faces a £5,000 veterinary bill which she cannot afford to pay as she lives on benefits.
Campaigners criticised Mrs Richardson and her husband Steven, 49, for their claim and said it was yet another example of the ‘compensation culture gone mad’.
But Mrs Richardson said Brighton and Hove City Council, which owns her house and the land outside it, was negligent and ‘completely responsible’ for what happened to her pet.
She claimed that she and other neighbours had been asking for the long grass outside their homes to be cut for a month before the accident.
The mother-of-one also said that the council, which says it yet to receive a complaint from her about the grass, was ‘lying’.
‘I was walking my dog and when we got close to my home, he noticed a cat and chased after it,’ she said.
‘He chased the cat up a bank and caught his leg in the grass and now he has a slipped disc. Surgery will cost around £5,000.
‘The grass was too long, it was much taller than Scooby - he was buried in the grass. We’ve been complaining to the council for four weeks about the length of the grass outside our home.
‘All the tenants on the road have been trying to get the grass cut because it is so long. I reported it to the council straight away but they claimed nothing was ever reported to them, which is a complete lie.
‘I would like to pursue it and sue them because they are completely responsible and liable for what happened to my poor dog.’
Mrs Richardson said the accident has left her husband and their son Rhys, 17, feeling ‘devastated’ because the family may have to give up Scooby if they cannot raise the money for his operation.
The couple claim Disability Living Allowance because they are unable to work due to back and hip problems.
Mrs Richardson last worked 18 years ago as a cleaner in a hotel but had to leave the job due to mental health issues.
Meanwhile, her husband was a binman in Dorking, Surrey, but was forced to retire 10 years ago because of his back problems.
Mrs Richardson said: ‘I want to take further action with the council - I would like to sue them.
‘It is so unfair we have a dog who needs an operation, but we do not have the money to pay for it - we may be forced to give him up.
‘We will have to send him to a vet surgery for an operation and then they will find him a new home. But I can’t do that, he is part of our family.’
The couple have another dog, a nine-year-old Corgi and Pomeranian cross called Babe.
‘I want to take Scooby out for a walk with Babe, but he obviously cannot come,' said Mrs Richardson.
'He is depressed, being unable to go on long walks is clearly getting him down. He loved chasing balls and loved going out for walks - it is so sad seeing him like this.
‘We are all absolutely devastated, my son broke down when we told him we may have to give Scooby up. This is affecting us every day.'
http://i.imgur.com/AnESDE6.jpg
A dog owner plans to sue a council for thousands of pounds after her pet slipped a disc in grass while chasing a cat.
Scooby, a three-year-old Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, was injured after getting his leg caught in long grass on council-owned land in Brighton, East Sussex.
His disabled owner Rebecca Richardson, 48, claims that she now faces a £5,000 veterinary bill which she cannot afford to pay as she lives on benefits.
Campaigners criticised Mrs Richardson and her husband Steven, 49, for their claim and said it was yet another example of the ‘compensation culture gone mad’.
But Mrs Richardson said Brighton and Hove City Council, which owns her house and the land outside it, was negligent and ‘completely responsible’ for what happened to her pet.
She claimed that she and other neighbours had been asking for the long grass outside their homes to be cut for a month before the accident.
The mother-of-one also said that the council, which says it yet to receive a complaint from her about the grass, was ‘lying’.
‘I was walking my dog and when we got close to my home, he noticed a cat and chased after it,’ she said.
‘He chased the cat up a bank and caught his leg in the grass and now he has a slipped disc. Surgery will cost around £5,000.
‘The grass was too long, it was much taller than Scooby - he was buried in the grass. We’ve been complaining to the council for four weeks about the length of the grass outside our home.
‘All the tenants on the road have been trying to get the grass cut because it is so long. I reported it to the council straight away but they claimed nothing was ever reported to them, which is a complete lie.
‘I would like to pursue it and sue them because they are completely responsible and liable for what happened to my poor dog.’
Mrs Richardson said the accident has left her husband and their son Rhys, 17, feeling ‘devastated’ because the family may have to give up Scooby if they cannot raise the money for his operation.
The couple claim Disability Living Allowance because they are unable to work due to back and hip problems.
Mrs Richardson last worked 18 years ago as a cleaner in a hotel but had to leave the job due to mental health issues.
Meanwhile, her husband was a binman in Dorking, Surrey, but was forced to retire 10 years ago because of his back problems.
Mrs Richardson said: ‘I want to take further action with the council - I would like to sue them.
‘It is so unfair we have a dog who needs an operation, but we do not have the money to pay for it - we may be forced to give him up.
‘We will have to send him to a vet surgery for an operation and then they will find him a new home. But I can’t do that, he is part of our family.’
The couple have another dog, a nine-year-old Corgi and Pomeranian cross called Babe.
‘I want to take Scooby out for a walk with Babe, but he obviously cannot come,' said Mrs Richardson.
'He is depressed, being unable to go on long walks is clearly getting him down. He loved chasing balls and loved going out for walks - it is so sad seeing him like this.
‘We are all absolutely devastated, my son broke down when we told him we may have to give Scooby up. This is affecting us every day.'